Eagles secure top spot field advantage

Jake Elliott made a 48-yard effort with just 22 seconds left and the Philadelphia Eagles secured the top spot in the National Association with a 19-10 win over the Oakland Raiders, Monday evening.

Ronald Darby intercepted a Derek Carr pass with 54 seconds to play and Nick Foles completed four consecutive passes for 21-yard gains. Elliott then sent the ball to the middle of both posts.

While the Raiders attempted a game of desperation, Derek Barnett recovered a fumble before heading into the end zone to end the game with a touchdown.

The last time they had the advantage of the field for the duration of the series of the National, in 2004, the Eagles (13-2) had reached the Super Bowl and had lost 24-21 against the Patriots of New England.

After showing a 12-4 record last season, the Raiders (6-9) were among the popular choices to challenge the Patriots for the American Association title. However, they had a disastrous season and were eliminated from the playoffs last week.

Carr threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper to tie the score 7-7 early in the second quarter. The Raiders even took the lead following a 25-yard kick by Giorgio Tavecchio in the first offensive sequence of the third quarter.

Subsequently, both teams made a real comedy of mistakes and they made three reversals in a row. Patrick Robinson intercepted a pass from Carr, but Eagles forward Jay Ajayi dropped the ball a few moments later. As of the next game, his Raiders counterpart, Marshawn Lynch, also lost the object.

The Eagles were happy with a 35-yard Elliott placement.

With 7:58 left, Foles threw a pass that touched the hands of halfback Zach Ertz and the ball landed in Reggie Nelson’s, but the Eagles soon regained possession when Malcolm Jenkins lose the ball to Jalen Richard.